Watch his short and share it with others. My work hasn't changed, and the crisis is only worsening.
A non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of all student loan debt through activism, education, and legislation; because student loan debt is dangerous to the US economy and to the health and well-being of individual Americans and their families. CRYN JOHANNSEN, Founder & Executive Director
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Must View Clip
Thanks to Dustin Slaughter for making this great short the night before I left the country. Dustin is one of nine members on the Board of Directors for All Education Matters. On that note, I have filled out the paperwork for incorporating, and am waiting to hear back from my Registered Agent.
Watch his short and share it with others. My work hasn't changed, and the crisis is only worsening.
Watch his short and share it with others. My work hasn't changed, and the crisis is only worsening.
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4 comments:
Hi Cryn:
I did see this tape on youtube.
My father went to Seoul in the early 1990's as a consultant on a construction job.
He was very impressed then at how modern and sophisticated the city was, and the sophistication of the architecture.
Ok so I haven't been on here in a few days and when I come back I see this video and I can't leave without posting a few thoughts.
First off, I do agree that student loan debt should be forgiven in bankruptcy and all private lenders should bear the risk of default. That's how risk/reward works. Nothing should be guaranteed. The fact that the federal govt backed the MBS and now apparently they back student loan debt is ridiculous. Also the Pell Grants going to for profit schools are stupid too.
Now on the flip side, I need to say that no one in this country should feel entitled to anything. Owning a house is not a right. No one has a right to an education. No one has a right to living an amazing life in America. It is called the American Dream for a reason. It is NOT A RIGHT. I think many people forget that. On the same note, not everyone needs to go to college. There are articles out there saying that you can work a trade like a plumber, electrician, car mechanic and make a good living. What's the point paying thousands of dollars and go to college and then graduate and you can't find a job b/c your major is not very marketable? Get with the program people...if you are a certain liberal arts major, it will be difficult to find a good paying job out of college.
Now about Martin Luther King's quote about how poverty shouldn't exist or whatnot in America; that is just idealism right there. Now I know who Martin Luther King is and what he did, but it seems like he has no sense of economic direction. It is very simple. If you don't make that much money, you are in poverty. What amazes me is that the poverty level is like 20k or something for a family of 4. Now tell me exactly why you have kids if you are making 20k/year. Now I understand the whole I want kids and a wife and all that stuff but seriously, do you think you're providing something good for your kids when you're living off 20k/year? I mean seriously people...kids are expensive. Do the simple math and if you want to have kids, then I hope you are able to support them. But personally I find it ridiculous when people are making so little money but they have like 5 or more kids. America is becoming more of a social welfare state everyday...
Sorry if I went off but this kind of stuff really pisses me off when people can't take responsibility for themselves or their actions....
@Mike - it is a shame that you do not understand the reason why education ought to be a right for every citizen. You have not read up on your Jefferson. If you had, you would not be making such claims. Have you ever stopped for a moment to think that your perspective of the world is not the only one? Have you ever thought that other views might have validity? If you answered yes to those questions, you certainly don't indicate that here.
Moreover, I am at a loss to understand why you are so "pissed off" by people who "can't take responsibility for themselves or their actions." Who are you talking about?
The point of this blog, and now my non-profit, All Education Matters (AEM), is to raise awareness about a SYSTEMIC problem - that's why it's a student lending crisis. Instead, you like to talk about personal responsibility and this and that. No one . . . no one here has ever said they don't take responsibility for their actions and themselves. Read this blog and tell me where a person doesn't do that?
It's not about that, Mike. We're talking about something much bigger than that.
Did you have a problem with the banks being bailed out, and then bilking millions of Americans afterward? What about their duty to be responsible? What about their dirty tricks with mortgages? Was it ok that they misled people when they signed documents? I suppose you'll say it was the INDIVIDUAL'S problem. And if I pointed out similar things when it came to student lenders, I bet you'd say that the individual was to blame. Fine. Thanks for being open-minded. You're all talk. You're not willing to think about this outside of your own judgments. So you have knee-reactions to things, and express how you're "pissed off." Fine. Great. Good for you. So why waste our time then? Why bother posting here?
And the fact that you claim the the U.S. is becoming more of a social welfare state is laughable. Are you kidding me? Seriously?
Wow. You have some things to learn. Get out of your little world, and read up a bit.
Ok, first off, I'm not sure how this turned into a conversation about me considering other people's views/opinions. I was expressing my viewpoints and even though you and a majority of people may disagree with them, I am definitely entitled to them and there are lots of people out there who agree with me too. Obviously you and me grew up in different environments with different experiences so you have your way of thinking and I have mine. And I was just expressing my opinion so no need to get testy here.
Now as far as being "pissed off" at people. Believe me when I say I'm not the only one who's pissed off at the freeloaders in the system. In every recession, the people who have been taking advantage of the system start hearing it from others. Who am I talking about? I'm talking about the people who don't work and draw benefits, people who are illegals and draw health benefits, people who don't put in anything to social security and yet draw it out.
As far as the banks are concerned, I was very against the bailout. I think the banks should've been allowed to fail and if we went into a depression then so be it. Then at least the system would've started over and uncorrupted banks would've taken the place of the corrupt banks. But alas, that didn't happen and I guess I'm kind of happy that didn't happen since I profited from it by buying the bank stocks at record lows.
Now like I said in my first comment, "First off, I do agree that student loan debt should be forgiven in bankruptcy and all private lenders should bear the risk of default. That's how risk/reward works. Nothing should be guaranteed. " I did not say it was entirely the individual's problem. However, you also can't blame the lender entirely either. That is why the lender should take on the risk if the student defaults....
Now as far as why I post here, it's to offer an opinion that opposes yours so people if they wish can decide where they stand. It doesn't really matter to me if they think I'm right or wrong, but if they read what I say it may spark some thoughts that they never had before.
As far as a social welfare state, "A welfare state is a concept of government where the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The general term may cover a variety of forms of economic and social organization." I definitely think we're headed in that direction. Latest poverty report showed 15% I believe and Obama's been talking about taxing the rich for awhile....even if it isn't obvious to you yet, if we keep heading down this path eventually it might just happen....and as far as it being laughable, remember the time when everyone laughed at Peter Schiff for calling the housing bubble?
Finally, as far as having things to learn and getting out of my little wold and reading up, I find that highly insulting. Just because I have opinions that are different from yours does not mean I'm some uneducated idiot who doesn't know anything about the world. I read every issue of Forbes and I read almost every article on Yahoo Finance everyday and I do lots of trading/investing. I know exactly what is going on in the world when it comes to economics. What I haven't heard from you yet is a plan for how to pay for free education for everyone. You do well talking about ideals but I don't see hard numbers. That's like me saying I want to buy a car for everyone but don't show a plan of how I'm going to afford it. I do agree that education SHOULD be available for everyone. However, when money comes into play, it isn't that easy....
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